GST a gamechanger, invest in India, Modi tells top CEOs in US

PM Modi with top CEOs in the USWASHINGTON: Inviting chiefs of top US companies to invest in India, PM Narendra Modi said the country has emerged as a business-friendly destination, particularly with the upcoming implementation of GST, which he termed a gamechanger.

“Interacted with top CEOs. We held extensive discussions on opportunities in India,“ Modi tweeted after the meeting, which lasted for about 90 minutes and included Tim Cook of Apple, Sunder Pichai of Google, and Jeff Bezos of Amazon.

He followed that with a session with members of the Indian diaspora in which he said that just as NRIs had done well once they got a favourable environment in the US, India would be transformed now that 125 crore Indians were getting favourable conditions.

Interestingly, the CEO of Johnson & Johnson was among those penciled in to meet Modi. India earlier this year regulated the cost of stents, cutting the price of some by as much as 75%. But US drug companies expressed concern at the step. On regulation of stent costs by India, US companies such as Boston Scientific, Abbott, and J&J have thrown a hissy fit, arguing that such government intervention would inhibit their investment in cutting-edge technologies and warning that India's $5 billion medical-technology market would lose out on latest medical advances.

They are backed by many US law makers -for whom the pharma lobby is one of the biggest sources of political funding. Several lawmakers recently wrote a stern letter warning that “the sudden and unprecedented nature of the decision (on stents) threatens citizens' access to the newest and most innovative medical technologies and raises strong concerns about the business environment in India“.

In a follow-up letter, lawmakers also complained about continued barriers, high tariffs, inadequate protection of intellectual property rights, and inconsistent and non-transparent licensing and regulatory practices -charges underscored by a story in the Economist journal that said PM Modi was far from the reformer he had promised to be.“Many sectors of the Indian economy remain highly and unjustifiably protected, and India continues to be a difficult place for American companies to do business,“ they wrote, noting that India was ranked 130th out of 190 countries for ease of doing business.

New Delhi is pushing back vigorously, pointing out in background conversations the predatory nature of western medical business, highlighted by an ongoing case in the US where “pharma bro“ Martin Shrkeli -a drug industry executive who famously hiked the price of HIV drugs by 5,000%-is on trial for securities and wire fraud.

Modi also has his task cut out for attracting US manufacturing jobs to India - illustrated by Apple's exertions to make iPhones in India - at a time when the Trump administration's emphasis is to keep jobs in the US and grow them as part of its America First initiative.The initiative clashes with Modi's own Make in India programme.

Such conflicting economic agendas belie the rather more agreeable mood on the geo-political front where both sides pretty much appear to be on the same page even before the two leaders have met. “Thank you @POTUS for the warm personal welcome. Greatly look forward to my meeting and discussions with you @realDonaldTrump,“ Modi tweeted soon after his arrival on Saturday night, responding to Trump's tweet: “'Look forward to welcoming India's PM Modi to @WhiteHouse on Monday .Important strategic issues to discuss with a true friend!“

With immense pride “India Live” celebrated its 10th national conference in Mumbai from 28th February to 3rd March 2019. The conference turned out to be a gold mine of information, with emphasis on academics, education and exchange of knowledge with leaders in interventional cardiology from both India and abroad.